Sign



April 1 E. 5. SMITH ET AL 2,280,010

SIGN

Filed March 16, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet l I I far/9 5; 5/77/77? ATTORNEY5 April 14, 1942. E a SWTH AL 2,280,010

SIGN

Filed March 16, 1940 I 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 00/7/6/ M Mae/(6r INVENTORS ATTORNEYS p E. 5. SMITH ET AL 010 SIGN Filed March 16, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet INVENTORS r 9 %w ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 14,1942 f M l Ohio, assignors (to The Toledo Porcelain Enamel Products. Company, Toledo; Ohio. a

corporation of Ohio Application March 16,1940,- Serial No. 324,383 8 Claims. 01. 40-1-32) This invention relates to signsfand particularly to signs to be located along streets and highways to warn and direct motorists.

It is an object of the invention to provide a Sign l aving electric illuminatingand/or flashing mec anism so incor-perated therewith as to be removable and replaceable.

j Another object is to provide a sign having -y removable and replaceable electric ill ating and/or flashing mechanism which, nevertheless, is well protected from the weather. A further object is to provide a sign having a replaceable drawer containing electric illuminating and/or flashing mechanism. 1

f A more specific object is to providea sign having a drawer to contain electric illuminating and/or flashing. mechanism, which may be ecow nomically constructed of sheet metal,

Another. specific object isto provide a sheet metal sign constructionwhich is adapted forthe incorporation of electric illuminating and/or flashing mechanism, and which also is adapted tobe. coated with vitreous porcelain enamel.

A still more specific object isto provide a sheet metal sign construction in whioh the major portion of the signandthe major portion of adrawer receptacle are. formed integrally from asingle sheet of metal.

Another object is to provide a sign equipped;

with electric illuminating or flashing mechanism which is wellfprotectedagainst missiles and well secured againsttampering.

Otherobje cts d dvantages Will. be apparent from the following description, in which referonce is bad to the accompanying drawings illustratingapreferred embodiment of the invention and wherein similar reference numerals designate similar parts throughout the several views.

indicated by the line I IL-III of the left end of the gap 6.

view taken substantially as indicated by the line VIVI of Fig.1. The body of the sign consists of a face plate I and a compartment. 2 at the rear of the face plate. In order that thestructure may be, pa rticularly well adapted for finishing with porcelain enamel, it is important that the face place be as nearly; asposs ible free of seams, rivets or rough areas which have been subjected to welding opl erations, becauseyseams, rivets and rough areas which have been subjected to welding operations;

areliab le to cause blemishesin porcelain enamel: applied over them. a l

. Liability to such blemishes has been avoidedin the structure of this invention by forming the major portions of the faceplate I and the compartment 2 of asingle sheet ofmetal. By inspece tion of Figs. IV and V of the drawings it will be observedthat the sheet metal of the face plate I. is fold d backwardly, downwardly and forment2, thus leaving a transverse gap 6 at the center of the face plate. I

After the metal sheet is thus folded, a narrow sheet metal strip 1 is welded to the side. of the faceplate I, as indicated by the dash lines 8 and 9, so that the narrow strip extends vertically across the right end of the gap 6. As shown in Fig. III, the strip I has a strengtheningchannelit] along its inner edge.

Another strip H .is welded to. the side of the face plate I, as indicated by the dash lines I2 and, [3, so that the strip ll extends vertically across The strip ll alsohas; a channel M along its inner edge, and extending rearwardly from the channel I4 is an integral,

flanged plate [5 that closes the left end of the compartment 2.

40 Roughnessat the short welds 8, 9, l2 and I3 on sheet metal blank from whicha major part of thetsign is formedby folding the blank along.

I street- 1amat. Wand,

I lgig vi, enlarged, fragmentary, sectional.

the front surface of the face plate is removed by grinding or otherwise, so that the surface of the; face plate I at and adjacent the welds is smooth I and unbroken. r The welds 9, I2 and it are like the weld 8 which is illustrated in Fig. VI. I

The sign body thus formed, consisting of the face plate l and the compartment 2, is mounted, by means of bolts )IG and sheet metal spacers II, upon an .uprightpost l8 which is set adjacent a, street orhighway intersection or other location where it is desired that motorists be warned or. directed. d a

. The principal warning. or direction signal. and; theilluminating and/orwflashing mechanism which the signal is to be brought to the attention of motorists preferably are incorporated in a replaceable drawer IS, the bottom 20, ends 2| and 22, and top 23 of which may be formed of a single sheet of sheet metal, with strengthening flanges along their edges. Secured to one end 2| of the drawer i 9 is a flanged closure plate 25 which, when the drawer is pushed into the compartment 2, completely covers the compartment end. A hasp 26 is fixed to the other end 22 of the drawer l9 and, when the drawer is in place, projects through a slot in the flanged plate l5, where it receives a padlock 21 that prevents unauthorized removal of the drawer.

The front sid 28 of the drawer i9 consists of fiat metal through which stencil-like letters are cut in proper grouping, such as Stop, and lying against the inner surface of the front side 28 of the drawer is a pane of glass 29. The glass pane 29 renders the interior of the drawer practically weatherproof, without preventing the passage of light through the stencil-like letters, while the metal front side 28 of the drawer protects the glass against breakage.

Back of and spaced from the glass pane 29 is a metal wall 30 which is adjustably fixed to the drawer ends 2| and 22 by means of short bolts 3| which pass through elongated openings in rearwardly bent end flanges 32 on the wall 30. Top and bottom flanges 33, bent forwardly from the wall 30, engage the glass pan 29 and hold it in close engagement with the front side 28 of the drawer, and the front side of the drawer in turn is pressed against a gasket 3 Drainage openings 35 are provided in the bottoms of the drawer I9 and the compartment 2 to permit any water that may leak into or condense in the drawer to escape.

The wall 30 is provided with holes through which passes glass tubing 36, a portion of which lies back of and is bent into the shape of the stencil-like letters in the front side 28 of the drawer R9. The tubing 35 contains rarefied neon or other rarefied gas, and the drawer i9 contains an electric battery IQa, an automatic circuit maker and breaker [9b, and a transformer I90, connected and arranged to pass intermittently an electric current, of proper characteristics, through'the rarefied gas and thus cause the gas intermittently to become luminous. Any suitable arrangement of electric mechanism can be used, and since suitable electric mechanisms are known, and since the electric mechanism generally illustrated in the drawings is not per se the invention of the applicants, it is not illustrated, or described herein, in detail.

Th metal surfaces of the sign preferably are coated after being welded together, but before mechanical assemblage with vitreous porcelain enamel. Vitreous porcelain enamel is fused to l the metal at high temperatures, and the construction of the sign body of this invention is such that it will withstand such high temperatures without warpage and Without setting up strains that are liable to cause after-failures. The construction also is such that vitreous porcelain enamel will fuse upon the surfaces smoothly, and without blistering or other blemishes, and will not be liable to after-cracking or scaling.

Th porcelain enamel applied to the front of the face plate 1 and the front side 28 of the drawer i9 is of a bright color, such as white, yellow or light orange, while the porcelain enamel applied to the back of the sign, and to the interior of the compartment, and to the drawer may be black. When the tubing 36 is not illuminated, the stencil-like letters will appear in dark contrast to the bright color of the front side 28 of the drawer as well as to the bright color of the face plate I. Illumination of the tubing 36, particularly flashing illumination, attracts attention to the sign in daylight and in darkness and also renders the lettering conspicuously visible, es-

pecially at night.

The face plate may be marked permanently with lettering, such as is shown at 3! and 38 on Fig. 1, to supplement that displayed through the opening 6.

The embodiment of our invention herein shown and described is to be regarded as illustrative only, and it is to be understood that the invention is susceptible to variation, modification and change within the spirit and scope of the subjoined claims.

Having described our invention, w claim:

1. A sign having a face plate portion and a compartment portion integrally formed of a sheet of metal, the top and bottom of the compartment portion being bent rearwardly at substantially right angles to the face plate portion, there being metal strips at each side of said face plate portion welded to and connecting the upper and lower parts thereof, one of said metal strips having a plate integral therewith, said plate extendin over and closing an end of said compartment portion.

2. A roadside sign comprising a face plate, a compartment fixed to the rear of said face plate, and a removable and replaceable drawer adapted to be contained in said compartment, said face plate having an opening in front of said compartment, said drawer having stencil-like indicia which are positioned behind said opening when said drawer is contained in said compartment, said drawer carrying mechanism for causing i1- lumination behind said stencil-like indicia and means to energise said illuminating mechanism.

3. A roadside sign comprising a face plate, a compartment fixed to the rear of said face plate, and a removable and replaceable drawer adapted to be contained in said compartment, said face plate having an opening in front of said compartment, said drawer having stencil-like indicia which are positioned behind said opening when said drawer is contained in said compartment, said drawer carrying tubing containing rarefied gas and containing electrical energizing means and means energized by said electrical energizing means for causing said gas to become luminous, said tubing being located behind said stencil-like indicia.

4. A roadside sign comprising a face plate, a

compartment fixed to the rear of said face plate, and a removable and replaceable drawer adapted to be contained in said compartment, said face plate having an opening in front of said compartment, said drawer having stencil-like indicia which are positioned behind said opening when said drawer is contained in said compartment, said drawer carrying tubing containing rarefied gas and containing electrical energizing means and means energized by said electrical energizing means for causing said gas to become luminous, said tubing being located behind said stencil-like indicia and conforming to the shape thereof.

5. A roadside sign comprising a face plate, a compartment fixed to the rear of said face plate, and a removable and replaceable drawer adapted to be contained in said compartment, said face plate having an opening in front of said compartment, said drawer having stencil-like indicia which are positioned behind said opening when said drawer is contained in said compartment,

said drawer carrying tubing containing rarefied gas and containing electrical energizing means and means energized by said electrical energizing means for oausingsaid gas to become luminous, said tubing being located behind said stencil-like indicia and conforming to the shape thereof, and a pane of glass located behind said stencil-like indicia to protect the mechanism carried by said drawer fromthe effects of wet weather.

6. A roadside sign comprising a face plate, a

compartment at the rear of said face plate, a

removable and replaceable drawer bearing illuminable indicia and containing means for illuminating said indicia and mechanism for energizing said illuminating means, said drawer being adapted to be contained in said compartment, 2()

said face plate having an opening through which said indicia are visible when said drawer is in said compartment, and means for locking said drawer against tampering 7. A roadside sign comprising a face plate, a

compartment with a removable drawer therein, said face plate having an opening in front of said compartment, indicia capable of illumination, said luminating means to illuminate said indicia and thus render them visible in flashes when said drawer is contained in said compartment, said drawer and compartment enclosing said illuminating means and said intermittent mechanism so as to protect said means and said mechanism from weather and against missiles.

EARLE S. SMITH. DANIEL M. MEEKER. 

